1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a universal link configurator, and particularly to a universal link configurator capable of making physical link configurations per a data link node (e.g. E2A-TBOS: Telemetory Byte Oriented Serial system in North American BOC) such as a carrier current supply apparatus or a data communication apparatus for a specific application (e.g. maintenance or management) utilizing Over Head Bits (service bits) and a general Data Communication Bearer (e.g. DDS or ISDN).
2. Related Prior Art
Conventionally, a data relay (intermediate) node or a data terminal (End) node has examined a data block called a packet consisting of an information portion and a header portion for describing the service organization to dynamically determine whether or not the data block should be terminated or forwarded at the node so that the logical connection may not depend on a physical connecting configuration.
It is of course that those nodes are physically and completely linked so that the data block or packet may communicate with all of the nodes in the network. However, such a sequential relaying operation for packets at each of the nodes requires a processing time to determine the termination or the relay of the information.
In a network with a comparatively large number of nodes, a maxium transferring time is remarkably increased depending on the number of hops which is the number of nodes the data block passes through. It is therefore seen that a response with respect to a predetermined information in a specific route is extremely delayed.
Further, this provides an operating characteristic that the message response times in all of the nodes are not confined in a restricted range.
Therefore, it is not generally suitable for a specific application such as a service mainly for a maintenance or management which only requires simplicity, rapidity or the like. This is because if the message response times in all of the nodes do not conform within the restricted range, the management time of all of the nodes for a fault detecting phase, a fault specifying phase, and a fault restoring phase for a maintenance or management may be different from each other.
In addition, if a more complicated management for the elements of the nodes is demanded, an object with a multi-function and a high-performance hardware/software, that is an expensive apparatus or equipment is required for a concentrated control, which fails to pay for customer's plant and equipment investment circumstances.
Therefore, particularly for such a specific application, there is required a service which is good in the efficiency of plant and equipment investment with respect to rationalization and needs no logical connecting procedures.
Because of no logical connecting procedures, it is necessary for every topological network to have means for providing complete links and a double routing allocation function for the network facility fault.
For such a specific application, there is prior art individually providing a route connection for each of the nodes and providing entire routing to realize a rapidity (high response) by taking advantage of a fixed nature or semi-fixed nature of physical connecting circumstances which are characterized by a service based on such a specific application. In this case, the data block has no header portion describing a service organization and provides no logical connecting services.
Thus, there is prior art which assures the quality of data on the route in the form of hardware. However, such prior art has a supportable physical conneting configuration limited to "Point to Point" or "Tree" and can not meet all of the topologies belonging to communication networks.
Furthermore, a recursive network connected in the form of a ring does not have a double routing allocation function for a particular facility fault.
Also, since connecting means depend on mechanical switches, the change of an initial physical connecting configuration according to the increase or decrease in the number of network nodes as a controlled object or a network facility fault can easily cause a large number of problems due to manual operations in the form of hardware requiring a large quantity of time.
Therefore, the re-change of a connecting configuration for such a network facility fault requires a dynamic operation which a manual operation can not meet at all.
The above prior art substantially has no means which meet a dynamic routing allocation for changing a physical connection from an initial working condition, for a topological change of a network, and for discrete event by re-provisioning for a network manager or a double routing allocation function for a facility fault.
Under the circumstances, as described above, there has been increasing a demand for a universal function which can freely change the form of a physical connection of a data link node (e.g. E2A-TBOS: Telemetory Byte Oriented Serial system in North American BOC) such as a carrier current supply apparatus or data communication apparatus for a specific application (e.g. maitenance or management) utilizing Over Head Bits (service bits) and a general Data Communication Bearer (e.g. DDS or ISDN), with electronic provisioning or re-provisioning by a network manager for the application of network topologies.
Such a demand comes from an increase of a carrier current apparatus due to the increase of controlled objects (e.g. a line subscriber of a telephone service) which frequently occurs.
Accordingly, there has been required a provisional electronic link configurator and means for working the same which freely include a physical link configuration with respect to any network topology belonging to a communication network. There has been also required means for a double routing allocation for network facility faults.